


I Wasn't Here When It Was You

by LERDM



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Cuddles, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jason Todd is Good with Kids, Minor Character Death, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Protective Jason Todd, Wakes & Funerals, non-graphic violence toward animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:15:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29683140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LERDM/pseuds/LERDM
Summary: While on a mission in space, Dick gets a message from Jason. It's pretty much his worst nightmare and he has no idea what to do or what to think except for the fact that he has to get home. He will not miss the funeral of another little brother. Not again.
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Comments: 20
Kudos: 270





	I Wasn't Here When It Was You

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoy! This is just a one-shot, plain and simple!

Jason was calling him. That in itself would be a cause for concern, but Dick was anxious because he wasn’t on Earth. He had gone with the Titans to help Kyle with a Lantern problem. Kori’s ship had decent service, but it was still choppy, and anyone trying to call would have a difficult time.

Further, Bruce was also off-world on an unrelated mission and was completely unreachable. Tim had been spending his time split between San Francisco and Gotham recently. It left Alfred, Damian and Jason as the only ones in Gotham. Stephanie and Barbara were on the other side of the world in Hong Kong visiting Cass and were therefore unavailable.

“Jason?” Dick asked with worry evident in his voice.

The other line of the call was very static-y.

“Dick I-” Jason cut out. “-to tell you-” “-Damian-” “-snuck out-” “-I found the body-” “-come back-” “-make it for the funeral-” “-some psychopath-” “-baseball bat-” “-Alfred is-” “-I’m going to kill them if I-” “-can’t reach Bruce-” “-on his way-” “-really need you here Dick-” “-I’m sorry-” “-I know Damian-“ ”-he loved-” “-funeral on Friday-”

Dick was fully hyperventilating when the call was completely cut off. He dropped the phone and ran into the ship’s main room, tears streaming down his face.

“Kori!” Dick shouted. “We need to go back to Earth!”

All his friends stared at him with horror. “What’s wrong?” Wally asked. He was at Dick’s side in a moment, and Dick hugged him and began to sob into his shoulder.

“Jason called, and Damian- Damian’s  _ gone _ !” He sobbed.

“He’s missing?” Donna Troy asked with a pale face.

Roy looked closely at Dick and shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“He’s-” Dick choked on his sobs. “The funeral is on Friday.”

“That’s tomorrow,” Kori murmured. “We might not make it back in time, but I will try my hardest, Richard.”

Dick continued to sob into Wally’s chest. “He’s  _ gone _ . He’s  _ gone _ .”

True to her word, Kori, with Roy’s engineering help, pushed the ship to the limit, but they made it back to Earth on Friday morning.

They docked at the Watchtower bay, and Dick wasted no time using a Zeta tube to teleport into the Batcave. It was empty, but there were signs that something had gone wrong. There was dried blood on the floor by the medical bay, and to Dick’s absolute horror, there was Damian’s blood-soaked Robin uniform laying on the ground and Jason’s blood-splattered leather jacket tossed over a chair. Alfred would never have left such a mess if he hadn’t been utterly distraught. That was how Dick knew it was real. Damian was dead.

Dick grabbed a coat, ripped off his domino mask and ran out of the cave, out of the manor and toward the Wayne family cemetery. He rounded the corner to see Jason alone in a suit, shovelling dirt into a hole. 

Dick knew he was too late.  _ Again. _ He had missed his little brother’s funeral.  _ Again _ . He hadn’t been able to save his little brother.  **_Again_ ** .

Dick began sobbing all over again, and the noise startled Jason. Jason turned to look at Dick with red eyes. Jason never cried over anything that wasn’t life or death.

“The reception is inside, Dickie. Thanks for coming. I know that mission was important,” Jason’s rough voice spoke.

“O-of course I came,” Dick said between tears. Jason frowned at him but made no move to stop him as he took off toward the manor.

…

Jason had been having the shitty week to end all shitty weeks. First of all, he had been in charge of babysitting the brat on patrol while everyone else was out of town and Damian cramped Red Hood’s style of brutal but kind and helpful. Robin was just brutal. Brutal and really mean. Or so said the little girl that Robin saved/traumatized while on said patrol.

The turning point of the night was when they got a call from Alfred on their comms.

“This is Agent A. Can you read me?” Alfred asked.

“Yeah, we read you, Agent A,” Jason answered. “Is everything alright?”

“I’m afraid it’s rather not,” Alfred said solemnly. “I believe Master Titus has managed to escape the manor. I was looking for him since he didn’t eat much of his dinner, and alas, I could not find him. I went to see where the tracker in his collar placed him, and it was moving to the edge of the property line, but now it is no longer moving.”

Damian had become stiff as a board while Alfred had been speaking. He turned to Jason, likely about to demand that they head back to the manor, but Jason beat him to it.

“Let’s go.” Jason lept down to the streets, and Damian was right behind him. They got to Jason’s bike, and Jason shoved his motorcycle helmet on Damian’s head.

It was clear Damian was distraught because he didn’t even protest when Jason treated him like a child and told him to hang on before he sped off toward Wayne Manor.

They went to the location that Alfred had described and found something sinister. Titus’ collar was lying on the grass. Noticeably, Titus was not present.

Damian called out for the dog, but there was no answer. It was clear the boy was starting to panic.

“Someone must have taken him!” Damian exclaimed with a panicked voice. “He can’t get his collar off by himself!”

“We’ll find him, Robin,” Jason said seriously. They combed the surrounding fields, and Jason found him.

“Robin!” Jason shouted. He knelt beside the dog, which was whimpering softly. There was blood everywhere, and a baseball bat was lying on the ground nearby. “Hang on a second, Titus. Good dog, good dog.” Jason had no idea what to say to a dog in pain.

He could hear little footsteps coming up behind him and then a sharp gasp. Damian threw himself to the ground beside his dog.

“Titus,” Damian breathed. He pat the dog’s snout affectionately, but his hand shook. Damian looked at Jason. “Can you- can you carry him?”

Jason wanted to say yes right away, but then he looked at Titus, at his injuries. “I could, Damian… but I think that would just put him in even more pain and I’m-I’m not sure there’s anything we’ll be able to do.”

“No!” Damian shouted. “No, we have to-to try. We have to try to save him!”

Titus’ breathing was getting more ragged as the seconds ticked on. Titus licked the palm of Damian’s hand, and that was what did in Damian. The boy curled himself up around Titus as gently as he could and cried into Titus’ fur.

“I swear to you. I will avenge you,” Damian vowed. “I’m so sorry. You were such a good dog, and you deserved so much better!” Damian sobbed.

It was only a few more minutes before the inevitable end. Damian began crying even harder. Jason stood vigil around the little bird and told Alfred what had happened.

“Agent A, we found Titus. He… he didn’t make it,” Jason said quietly.

On the other end, Alfred could hear Damian’s sobs. “Oh, dear. Make sure he takes the time he needs, then bring them both back to the manor. We can have a proper burial there, on Friday, perhaps.”

“Yeah, that’s-” Jason stopped as he looked down at Damian. “We’ll be home soon.”

Jason knelt on the ground next to Damian and put an arm around the boy’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Damian. 

Damian didn’t respond, but he also didn’t stab Jason for touching him in his moment of weakness. Maybe that was progress.

He waited at Damian’s side for another 15 minutes, and then Damian stood up. The Robin uniform was covered in blood. Jason took off his leather jacket and covered most of Titus’ body with it before lifting the giant dog up. It was really fucking heavy, but Jason could manage, especially for Damian.

They made it back to the cave, and Jason placed Titus’ body on one of the medical tables in the cave and turned to Damian.

“I’m going to find who did this, but you should rest,” Jason said.

Damian’s lip trembled, and he hugged Jason tightly around the midsection. No words were exchanged, but they weren’t needed. Jason hugged the brat back and set off on his mission. 

He went back to the field and retrieved the baseball bat. He brought it back to the cave and ran the prints he found.

Carl Thatchery. He was a messed-up man. He had done a stint at Blackgate and then another at Arkham. Blackgate was for breaking and entering, Arkham was after he lost his mind and started to torture the people, and animals, around him.

Jason’s next move was to call Tim.

“Jason?” Tim asked with a yawn. “What’s going on? It’s like… 3 am in Gotham.”

“Tim. Titus died. Some psycho killed him.”

“What.” Tim’s voice was no longer Tim Drake, the eternally tired teenage CEO; it was now Red Robin, the second-best detective in the world.

“I know who did it, and I’m about to go and kill him. But… if you’re not in the middle of anything, Alfred is going to have a funeral on Friday morning, and I think the brat would appreciate your support, even if he doesn’t say it.”

“Of course. I… I need a few hours here, and then I’ll see what flights I can get. Have you called Dick?” Tim asked.

“No. He’s in space. How the hell could I even get a hold of him?” Jason asked.

“By calling his cellphone, obviously,” Tim said. “He has it fitting up with space tech so he can still receive calls. The quality might be a little sketchy, but you should be able to get through.”

Jason groaned. “Can you just call him?” He asked.

“No.” Tim put Jason on speakerphone while he was getting dressed. “Also, are you actually planning on killing the guy that did this?”

“Absolutely,” Jason said.

Tim was silent for a moment. “While I do appreciate and support that position… In this case, you might want to consider modelling healthy coping mechanisms? It’s not exactly a healthy thing to respond to grief with murder, Jason.”

Jason was silent for a moment. “Says who?” Jason retorted weakly.

“I dunno a therapist, probably. Anyway, I’m going to finish up my work here now, and I should be able to get to Gotham later today.”

“Alright, see ya, Tim.”

Jason then dialled Dick’s number.

“Jason?” Dick asked. It was clear enough, so Jason figured that Dick could hear what he said next.

“Dick, I don’t know why I’m the one who has to tell you, but Titus died. Damian thinks he snuck out somehow. I don’t know. Anyway, I found the body and Damian was there, and it was awful. I don’t know if you can come back in time to make it for the funeral, but I’m sure the kid would want you there. The fucking worst thing is that it was just some psychopath with a baseball bat who was just crazy. It wasn’t anything personal; it was just random.” Jason sighed. “Alfred is blaming himself, and Damian hasn’t spoken a word since. I know who the guy is, and I’m going to kill him if I catch him tonight. I can’t reach Bruce, and Tim is on his way. I’m doing my best, but Damian really needs you here, Dick. I’m sorry to cut your mission short, but I know Damian would want you to know.” Jason sighed again and shook his head. ”He loved that dog. The one thing that he can show healthy emotion toward, and it gets ripped away from him like that. It’s just fucked. Anyway, funeral’s on Friday morning if you can make it.”

Jason waited for a response, but one never came. Dick had hung up.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Fucking typical.”

Jason got out of his bloody uniform and into sweatpants before going upstairs. Alfred was cleaning quietly in the kitchen.

“I convinced Master Damian to go to bed, but would you mind going and checking on him?” Alfred asked quietly.

“Of course,” Jason said. He padded up the stairs and down the hallway and peered into Damian’s room. He wasn’t there. Jason’s heartbeat upticked slightly. He checked in every room down the hall of bedrooms until he noticed a soft light coming from Bruce’s room.

Sometimes Jason forgot Damian was 12.

Jason pushed the door open a little more and saw that Damian was curled up in the middle of Bruce’s obnoxiously large bed and crying into a pillow.

Jason entered the room quietly but made enough noise that Damian knew he was there and wasn’t going to startle him. He climbed up onto the bed and sat next to Damian, but not touching him.

“I’m sorry. I am acting like a child,” Damian said. He looked at Jason from the pillow and sniffled. “I know pets die, and Titus was an old dog, but-”

“But nothing,” Jason interrupted. “Titus was like a family member, and he was taken away too soon. And don’t apologize for being upset, Damian. You have every right to be as emotional as you want.” Jason paused. “I know I’m not Bruce or Dick… but if you close your eyes and curl up a little closer, I might be a good enough substitute.”

Damian sniffled and moved closer, forgoing the pillow, instead resting his head on Jason’s torso.

“You’re much too large to pretend to be Grayson,” Damian said. “I will pretend you are father instead.”

Jason smiled a little at that. He was happy his ab days were not going unnoticed. “Alright, here’s my best Bruce impression.” Jason could practically feel Damian rolling his eyes. “Damian, son-”

“Don’t do the Batman voice.”

“-I know things are tough right now,” Jason continued normally. “But everything is going to be okay.” The more Jason spoke, the less Bruce’s voice came out, and the more Jason’s did. “Losing someone suddenly is never easy; it’s never simple, either. It will get better. Bit by bit.” Jason swallowed. “I’m proud of you. Really proud. I know you grew up in a place where showing emotion was a bad thing, but you’ve grown so much since then. I know it’s awful, but this is the healthy way to work through things, not keeping all your emotions locked up.” Jason looked down at Damian, who was staring forward blankly. “You have a lot of people that love you, kid. I know you might feel alone right now, but-”

“I’m not alone,” Damian murmured. “You’re here.”

Jason pulled Damian a little closer to him. “Go to sleep, little bat. I’m not going anywhere.”

The next morning, Damian woke up tucked into Jason’s side with the older boy snoring away above him.

Tim was watching with a sad smile from the doorframe.

“Hey, Damian,” Tim said quietly. “Alfred made some breakfast.”

Damian carefully wriggled out of Jason’s grip and followed Tim out of the bedroom.

Tim stopped at the top of the stairs and hugged the boy tightly. Damian clocked his tongue but otherwise did not protest.

“I’m really sorry, Damian,” Tim said.

“Your sympathies are noted,” Damian said. His voice was not as sharp as usual, and Tim squeezed him a little tighter before letting go and walking down the stairs with him. Alfred made chocolate chip pancakes, and they ate in silence.

Jason came down the stairs not long after, and breakfast continued in silence.

Damian then retreated to his drawing-room, and the ‘adults’ had a discussion about what they were going to do.

“I thought about what you said,” Jason started. “And I have decided I won’t kill the guy that did this, you know, to be a role model or whatever the fuck.” Alfred didn’t even chide him for his language.

Tim let out a relieved breath. “Good, because I’m not sure that would have gone over well when B and Dick get back.” Tim took another sip of coffee. “Did you call Dick?”

“I did, but I’m not sure anything got through, so… I don’t know. I think we’ll have to go ahead with the funeral on Friday morning,” Jason said.

“Why do we have to do it so quickly?” Tim asked.

“Well, Master Tim, any longer, and we would have to take actions to make sure that the body does not begin to break down.”

Tim nodded. “Right, I forgot about that.”

“Well, maybe Dick will get back in time, but… the three of us will have to do because there’s no way to reach Bruce.”

Jason nodded. “I’m going to go out tonight and find the bastard that did this. Maybe you can watch a movie together or something?” Jason suggested.

“Yeah, I think I can do that,” Tim said with a nod.

Damian stayed in the drawing-room all morning and afternoon. Alfred brought in lunch for him there, and after lunch, Jason brought in a book and joined him in silence as he sketched. Tim had to go into Wayne Ent. for a few hours in the early evening before dinner, but he returned to join them and then took Damian to the theatre room to watch Wall-E, a favourite of Tim’s that Damian had never seen before.

While the two were bonding over man’s over-reliance on machines, Jason was suiting up in the cave. He left his guns behind because he knew that if he took them, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from shooting the bastard.

He swung over the rooftops of Gotham with no grace or grin to be found; simply pure drive. When he arrived at the apartment of one Carl Thatchery, he took a little pleasure in breaking through the window and scaring the shit out of the man.

“R-red Hood!” He exclaimed. “But I haven’t done anything! Not to kids! I swear!”

Jason lunged forward and pinned him to the neck by his throat.

“You killed my little brother’s dog,” he gritted. The voice modulator in his helmet had him sounding all the more intimidating.

His eyes widened, and then Jason punched him with enough force that he was out cold. Then he dragged the sorry piece of garbage all the way to the roof of the GCPD, where Gordon was having his smoke break that he thought no one knew about.

Jim was taken aback by the Red Hood’s presence.

“Hood?” He asked. “What the hell are you doing? Who is that?”

“This fucker killed Robin’s dog, and he’s also responsible for the murder of two prostitutes that Major Crimes has been investigating,” Jason replied.

Gordon looked up at Jason with something akin to pride. “You didn’t kill him.”

Jason swallowed. “Apparently, that wouldn’t have been modelling good emotional health.”

“Huh,” Gordon said with surprise. “Well, there’s a first time for everything.” Jim turned his back on Hood for a moment to handcuff the guy. When he turned back around, he jumped.

Jason raised an eyebrow, though Jim couldn’t see that through the mask.

“What?” Jason asked.

“It’s just-” Jim stopped. “Usually, you all leave when I turn around.”

Jason frowned. “Why would I do that? I haven’t even told you this guy’s name yet.”

“Yeah, well, that doesn’t usually stop Batman,” Jim grumbled.

So Jason gave Jim all the needed information about Carl Thatchery and where to find the evidence that would convict him of the two murders. Then, he disappeared on Gordon.

The next morning, Jason got into his best suit, and he met everyone in the kitchen. They had a small breakfast, and then Jason excused himself to go out and dig a grave where Alfred had marked it the day before. Then he went down to the cave to a room where Alfred had cranked the AC and patched up Titus’ body as best as possible. Tim had, at some point, made a makeshift casket out of plywood. So Jason went to the cave and carried it out into the yard.

Alfred, Tim and Damian were standing by the grave wearing black suits and watched in silence as Jason lowered the coffin into the hole as gently as possible.

Alfred cleared his throat and stepped forward.

“We are all gathered here today to celebrate the life of one Titus Wayne,” Alfred began.

The words to Damian all blurred together, and he didn’t hear when Alfred asked him if he wanted to speak.

Jason gently nudged him with his elbow. Damian looked up at him with teary eyes.

“Do you wanna say a few words, Damian?” Jason asked.

Damian nodded and changed positions with Alfred.

“Titus was a good dog,” Damian began. He looked down at his hands for a moment and then took a breath. “He was an admirable companion and was an intelligent and gentle creature. I will miss him very much.”

Damian then went straight to Jason’s side and buried his face against Jason’s suit jacket. Jason draped his arm around the boy gently.

They all stood there in silence for a few minutes until Alfred cleared his throat.

“There are sandwiches and some deserts inside,” he said. “Let us have a reception there.”

Tim nodded and followed Alfred into the house. Damian turned to look at the grave. “I can help you fill it in.”

“No, Damian,” Jason said. “That’s okay. I can do it.”

Damian nodded slightly. “Thank you, then.”

Jason took off his suit jacket and placed it on the ground. “I’ll meet you inside. Save a croissant for me.”

Damian walked off, and Jason stood in front of the hole. He took a calming breath and started filling in the void. In a way, it was cathartic. He was the one burying something, not the one being buried. Simultaneously, it was hell. Because he knew, better than anyone, how awful it was to be buried alive. What if that’s what he was doing to the poor dog?

He was nearly finished when he heard someone running behind him, and then he recognized the sob of Dick and turned around.

He was surprised to see that Goldie had managed to get to the Manor in time, even more, surprised to see how upset he seemed.

“The reception is inside, Dickie. Thanks for coming. I know that mission was important,” Jason said. Dick was still actively crying, and Jason narrowed his eyes slightly. Sure, the dog was important to Damian, but Jason had once seen Dick look at a dead raccoon on the side of the road and ask Bruce in all seriousness if they should take it home and cook it for Damian’s various pets. Dick was not what one would consider an animal lover, which wasn’t to say he didn’t like pets, but he had grown up in the circus where they fed any dead animal they could find to a lion, so he hadn’t ever seemed too concerned about the death of pets before.

“O-of course I came,” Dick said between tears. Jason frowned at him. There was something else going on. Jason wanted to ask if everyone on the mission was alright or if something had happened before he came back, but he didn’t. Jason just watched him walk into the Manor and returned to filling in the hole.

…

Dick pushed open the door to the manor and stifled another sob. He heard Alfred’s voice in the kitchen, so he went toward it.

When he saw the older man, he completely broke down. He ran to Alfred and hugged him, and cried onto his shoulder.

“Master Richard-”

“I- I was too late. I was too late again-” Dick couldn’t get any more out before falling into hysterics again.

“Dick?” Tim asked with concern as he walked into the kitchen. “Are you okay?”

Dick released Alfred and grabbed Tim tightly. “Timmy,” Dick cried.

Tim patted Dick’s back gently. “Hey, uh… it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay!” Dick choked. “He was so young!”

Tim looked at Alfred with confusion over Dick’s shoulder. Alfred seemed equally confused.

“Well, I mean… I… suppose.”

Dick pulled away from Tim, about to snap at him for not being upset about his  _ little brother dying _ when something miraculous happened.

Damian walked into the kitchen and looked Dick dead in the eye.

“Grayson… I am surprised you managed to make it back so quickly.”

Dick grabbed Tim again, and the cycle of sobbing began anew.

Damian narrowed his eyes.

“Grayson. Are you… injured? Have you been dosed with some toxin?” Damian asked again.

“Yeah…” Tim said. “I’m starting to wonder about that myself.”

Dick then froze. “You can hear him?” He whispered to Tim.

“I will go fetch a testing kit,” Alfred said and walked toward the cave.

Tim narrowed his eyes at Dick. “Of course I can hear him. He’s right there.” Tim gestured to where Damian was standing.

Dick lunged forward, falling to his knees in front of Damian and embracing the boy tightly, almost deathly so.

“Dami,” Dick breathed shakily. “You’re not dead.”

“Tt. Of course not,” Damian said. “You are behaving in an extremely odd fashion, Grayson. Explain yourself.”

“I- I got a message from Jason,” Dick murmured into the top of Damian’s head. “He told me you were dead.”

“Typical,” Damian sneered. “Todd cannot even handle sending a proper voicemail.”

“Hey, I sent a perfectly good voicemail. What’s going on in here?” Jason asked from the other side of the kitchen. He had come in through the garden shed entrance on the other side of the cellar after dropping off the shovel there.

“You said you found Damian’s body,” Dick said. He was still holding Damian tightly, but anger was beginning to bubble. “You said he was beaten to death.”

“No…” Jason said with confusion. “No, I’m actually certain I did not tell you that.”

Dick, with one arm still wrapped around Damian, reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He played the message he received.

“Huh,” Jason said.

…

Bruce was exhausted when the Justice League landed back at the Watchtower. It had been a long, arduous process of trying to convince alien invaders to stop their current invasion of a nearby solar system in the hopes that they would not move onto Earth next. Of course, since Hal Jordan was an awful negotiator, things did not exactly go smoothly.

He was excited to go home and rest, something he didn’t often say.

All thoughts of rest flew out the window when he saw Dick, looking solemn, waiting for him. He wasn’t wearing a uniform, not even a mask.

He seemed nervous, upset. Why would he be there-

It’s Jason. Or Tim. Bruce can tell. One of them is dead. Or both of them. His heartbeat picked up, and he willed his legs not to shake and his eyes not to tear up.

“Dick,” he said as steady as he could.

“Hey B,” Dick started gently. “Listen… I’m sorry to be the one who has to tell you this… but Titus died while you were away.”

Bruce didn’t quite catch the relieved expression before it appeared on his face. Dick looked at him strangely.

“I… Thank you for telling me. How is Damian?”

“He took it really rough, but Jason caught the guy, and he’s been hanging around at the manor. I honestly had no idea the two of them were that close,” Dick explained. Dick watched Bruce closely. “You’re alright? You’re acting a little strange.”

Bruce swallowed and smiled slightly. “I may have jumped to worst-case scenarios when I saw you there. I… was afraid you were going to tell me Jason was dead, not the dog.”

Dick almost wanted to laugh. “Funny you say that. Because Jason was the one who told me, but his voicemail got all messed up in space, and  _ I _ thought he was telling me that Damian had died.”

Bruce frowned and put a hand on Dick’s shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to believe that. I can’t imagine that was in any way a pleasant thing.”

Dick blinked back a couple tears. “Yeah, not really.”

They Zeta-d back to the cave soon after, and Bruce went to check on Damian. Dick had informed him that the boy had taken to sleeping in Bruce’s bed. Dick had left out an essential piece of information, however.

Jason was there. Damian was curled up against Jason’s side, fast asleep, while Jason was reading.

As soon as the door opened, Jason peered at Bruce from behind the book and gestured for him to be quiet.

Jason proceeded to carefully remove himself from the oddly cuddly Damian and meet Bruce just outside the bedroom.

“Hey, old man,” Jason started warily.

Bruce put a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “Jaylad… I’m- It’s good to see you, son.”

“Yeah, sure.” Bruce wanted to assure Jason, but the young man continued. “Listen, Damian’s really rough right now, but I think he’s actually learning how to express emotions to people for once in his life, so I swear to god if you somehow ruin this-”

Bruce tugged Jason in for a hug. “Thank you for being here and taking care of him. You’re a very good brother, Jaylad. I’m very proud.”

Jason blinked back the stinging tears and pulled away. “Whatever,” he brushed off.

Bruce didn’t really want to let Jason go, but he didn’t want to trap his son, so he just watched the man walk down the hallway and descend down the stairs, hoping he wasn’t leaving.

…

Jason walked out to Titus’ grave, where he was surprised to see Dick standing. He was crying again. Jason hesitated, but Dick had already heard him and had turned to look. Jason walked up beside him.

“You know… I was in space when you-” Dick stopped. He couldn’t bring himself to say the words. “I missed your funeral.”

“Well, you can come to the next one,” Jason said. He was joking, trying to lighten the mood, but it was not effective.

“Don’t you dare die before me again,” Dick said with more tears welling in his eyes. “Please, Little Wing. I can’t do that again.”

Jason frowned. “I’ll… I’ll try my best.”

Dick wrapped an arm around Jason’s shoulders. “Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to hear what everyone thinks! If you enjoy this, be sure to give some of my other batfam fics a read!


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